Book Review: How to Cross A Marquess by Jane Ashford

Much thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for this complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and opinions are fully my own. Also, all quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

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Book Details

Title: How to Cross A Marquess (The Way to A Lord’s Heart #3)

Author: Jane Ashford

Date Published: August 27, 2019

Number of Pages: 352

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

“Could anything be more foolish than mooning over a man she’d run away from a few years ago?”

📚 Series: Yes. Third book of The Way to A Lord’s Heart. Can be read as a standalone.📚 Genre: Historical Romance.
📚 POV: Third person.📚 Cliffhanger: No.

Book Blurb from Goodreads

The Marquess of Chatton and his neighbor Fenella Fairclough have known each other all their lives. They refused to marry each other years ago when their parents demanded it, and they won’t concede now―even if circumstances have brought these former enemies much closer than they ever could have anticipated.

My Review

This is my first book by Jane Ashford. I know, right? So here’s my first impressions.

How to Cross a Marquess, is the third book from a series, but it did not really felt like it, which is good for people like me who just randomly picked out a romance novel to read.

I was drawn in by the blurb, which shows two of my favorite tropes, enemies to lovers and second chance romances.

Did the book deliver? For me, not so much. I was seeking more of an exposure to the enemies to lovers trope, but for the most part, there was nothing interesting about it.

The Marquess Roger Chatton and Fenella Fairclough were supposed to be matched by the parents years ago, but circumstances came about and they both ran away from it, despite how attracted they were to each other. (Aka teenage angst plus denial)

Fastforward to a few years later, Roger was dealing with the death of his wife by blaming her accident to Fenella, who was said to be a close friend.

When their paths meet again, they find away to reconcile their wounded relationship, as well as dealing with the messes life has thrown upon them.

In terms of plot building, I have to say I was not really impressed. Lots of conflict points were weak to me. The transitioning and fitting everything together also felt rushed with so many missing pieces.

I was not attached with the characters, as Roger felt a little too weak, and Fenella felt a little too gullible. I was trying to hard to immerse myself in the story, but I was not really rooting for them and I just felt like a casual observer.

Romance wise, this was a very light one. I was expecting things to be a little steamier, but this was written in a fade-to-black style.

Drawing the conclusion felt a little rushed to me. And, I did not like how things ended in a foreshadowing note towards the next novel. I wish the exact end was about the main couple instead.

But then again, I was reviewing an ARC and things might have changed in the final copy.